On The Road Friday ~ Necedah, Wisconsin

 

 

Hello Friends,

Our latest adventure was to Necedah, Wisconsin. We visited the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge... and it was a fantastic time. We saw so much wildlife and beauty. A sampling of what we saw, deer, including a fawn, porcupine, turtles, swans, herons, butterfly, and so much more.

Click here for more information Necedah National Wildlife Refuge 

And one more place to click for more information 

 

 

2023 we had a drought, 2024 we are receiving rain, rain and more rain. The boardwalk was flooded, but Ernie and I decided to brave the waters.. it was not that deep, just a wee bit over my shoe.

 

A few photos from the day... one of the butterfly that we saw was a Karner Blue Butterfly. I did not get a good photo of it because it was flying up and down and all around. 

Click here to learn more about the Karner Blue Butterfly

We subscribe to Our Wisconsin Magazine. It is a fun magazine all about Wisconsin. The Spring issue featured the JB Polish and American Deli. We decided to eat our lunch here.

 

 

After reading about Zofia and her deli.. we decided to eat lunch here.

90 percent of the items in her store are from Poland. 

Zofia displays Polish treasures in her deli, including a traditional dress featuring intricate beadwork. Red and white are the country's national colors.

 

A few more photos from the day of exploring the area.

 

 Thank you for coming along with me on our adventure to Necedah, Wisconsin.

 ♥

Carla

 

Welcome to the Farm

 

Welcome Lucy and Ethel to our little farm at The Little Garden That Could.

Lucy and Ethel are Muscovy Ducks. I began to research adding ducks to our little garden during the winter months. I read how several gardeners added ducks to the garden because they eat pests. Muscovy are a fantastic breed for pest control.

Lucy and Ethel will also provide us with eggs. They will start to lay in February.

My husband built a larger run so we could add the ducks to our little farm.

 

Lucy and Ethel and the Olly girls... Lolly, Polly, Dolly and Holly.

 

 Wanting eggs during the winter months, and with our hens taking a seasonal break, my dad gifted me two young hens that just started to lay eggs.

 

The white hen is Wilma.

The brown hen Betty.

 

New friends on the farm.

 

 

 ♥

Love from your Crazy Chicken Lady with two ducks. 

 

On the Road Friday ~ Northern Wisconsin State Fair, Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin

 It is Friday and it is time for.. On the Road Friday!

July 9th, Jeremy and I decided to visit the Northern Wisconsin State Fair. We had not been to the fair since 2016. We enjoyed several shows. A comedy routine, several bands and dancers. We also enjoyed seeing the animals, eating some fun fair food and we even went up in the sky.

Here we go to the fair!

 

I always love seeing the cows getting all pampered and ready for the show.

 

 

I fell in love with these Miniature Hereford Cattle. They were cute and gentle. 

 

 

My sister has this breed of chicken. My sister's hen is named Millie, I sent her this photo to share that Millie's friends where at the fair.

 

 

Keeping the sheep clean for the show, with these pretty outfits.

 Styling Sheep!

 

 

Another shot of my favorite, the Hereford.

 

Brown Swiss.. another reminder of my sister, she loves Brown Swiss cows.

 

It is time to eat! There were so many food trucks. It was really difficult to decided. We decided on Island Vibe~Caribbean Food. 

 

 

Monkeys at the fair!

 

 

And Up we Go!

 

 

Our boys apartment is that away. 

We had a fun day at the fair. We enjoyed a bag of kettle corn and blackberry ice tea too.

Thank you for coming along today!

A White Tip on a Tail.

 Hello Friends,

The other day I peeked out at the bird-feeder, what did I see?

 

A rascal of a squirrel at my feeder.

Looking closer I see that this squirrel is sporting a white tip on that tail.

 

The acrobat that this squirrel is to get to a favorite treat.

 

Do you spy the white tip on the tail? 

"Today I embrace what makes me beautifully unique and beautifully me."

Have a great weekend my friends!

♥

Carla

As I was walking

 During one of our walks, I just about stepped on this green thing. I looked closer to see that this little green thing was a baby snapping turtle.

He was on his way to a little pond across the road. 

We decided to help him on his way. Jeremy picked him up very careful and moved him to the side of the road.  NOTE .. we would never be able to pick up a grown snapping turtle. This little guy did not try any shenanigans and seemed genuinely happy we moved him along.

More Winter Tracks

Looking behind us at the snow.. well I can share with you we have a LOT more snow! These photos were taken in late December. We have GOT SNOW!  We have 4 more inches in the forecast for Friday.

I will post a snow update on Monday. 

In the mean time lets look at a few more tracks.

 What do you think made the following tracks? The same mammal made the tracks in the above and below photo. Who is traveling in circles?

 Some bird made a landing in the above photo!

What kind of bird?

And who made these fancy tracks?

1. A Mole

2. A Ruffed Grouse

3. Wild Turkey

"Every mile is two in the winter."

George Herbert

 

Winter Tracks

 My husband and I purchased snowshoes for each other for Christmas. We do enjoy cross country skiing, but we are not able to adventure in some areas with skis. 

We have really enjoyed snowshoeing. 

It has become a new favorite!

During one of our snowshoe adventures we came across the following tracks.

Tracks we had not seen before .. what animal could be passing by?

When taking photos of the tracks be sure to place something next to the track to determine the size of the track. Also take a photo of the gait (the walk) of the animal if you are able. This will help when you start your research on who made that track. 

 Could it be a Badger?

It would be something if it was a Wolverine!
 

It is a Fisher.

The message below my husband sent to the Wisconsin DNR. 

My husband received a nice reply back from Curtis he did confirm the track was a Fisher and that it was a unique track to see.

 

 

Hi Curtis,

My wife and I found this track on Monday Feb 4. We were snowshoeing at a Barron County park by Prairie Lake. Whatever animal it is from was following our tracks from Friday Feb 1. We had some rain and melting over the weekend which may have distorted the track.

In the photos I have attached the basket of my pole is 3.5" diameter, for scale. Looking at various track books and online I think it may be a wolverine track.

If there is any insight you may have I would be interested.

 

A shout out to one of our dear blog friends Lavender Dreamer, who shares her hikes , photos of birds, plants and animals with us. She had a crazy weekend with Google.

Click here to read her story! 

 

She is back! 

On the Road Friday ~ Henry Vilas Zoo, Madison, Wisconsin

Henry Vilas Zoo

click on the link below to visit the website

Henry Vilas Zoo

On our trip to Madison in October of 2017 we ventured to the zoo.

Henry Vilas Zoo is one of a kind, it is a no charge zoo. It is packed with exhibits. 

We took our bikes with on our adventure to Madison. Madison has an amazing bike trail system. The bike trail was right out our hotel front door. It was easy to bike around the city to the attractions we wanted to visit.

Off to the Zoo we go.

 Peek a Boo

Wisconsin is the Badger State!

 Peek a Boo, two badgers.

I could watch Prairie Dogs all day. They are so funny.

 Out of Africa

We were very impressed with all the African animals.

The story about the bears.

From Montana to Wisconsin.

This guy really is cute!

  

You have to love that face. 

I will end our tour with what all three men in my life laughed and laughed about. Yep, that goes for my oldest, my husband. He is the one who took the photo!

This Rhino really had to go. They laughed and he just continued to go. They informed me later, they could not believe how much that Rhino had to go. It was like he was never going to stop.

Boys will be Boys ... Forever!  Ha! Alright, I will be honest, I started laughing too. This Rhino did seem to have a never ending stream. 

Have a great weekend my friends.

♥

Carla